Who Are the Congress Leaders Protecting Sacrilege Perpetrators?

Chandigarh, July 18 (NationPress) The President of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Sukhbir Badal, on Friday challenged the Congress to reveal the identities of all its leaders who provided protection to those involved in the sacrilegious acts against the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015. This call comes in light of recent admissions by senior party members acknowledging their political maneuvering regarding these grave incidents.

In a statement issued, Badal emphasized that with the admissions made by senior Congress figures such as Pargat Singh in the Vidhan Sabha and former Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in a recent interview, it is essential for both these leaders and the Congress party to clarify their involvement in politicizing the sacrilege issue.

Badal further asserted that the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government share a mutual stance on this matter. He highlighted Randhawa's comments in his interview, noting that no one seems willing to pursue the sacrilege cases to their rightful conclusion.

He elaborated on the various Special Investigation Teams (SITs) established to examine these sacrilege incidents, accusing them of being mere facades to mislead the public. Badal referenced Randhawa's assertion that he would have sought an explanation from former Inspector General of Police Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh instead of accepting his resignation had he held the Home Minister position.

This, he argued, indicates that factions within the previous Congress administration were aware that the police officer was involved in political maneuvering concerning the sacrilege issue, particularly in collusion with the AAP, which he joined right after resigning from his police role.

Badal noted that when considering the Congress leaders' admissions alongside AAP's entry into the state, along with subsequent sacrilegious events—including an AAP legislator's conviction for desecrating the Koran Sharif—there is a compelling need to scrutinize the party's involvement in all sacrilege incidents.

He concluded by calling for an independent investigation into these matters, asserting that the senior AAP leadership is equally culpable for enabling sacrilege perpetrators. He criticized AAP ministers Harpal Cheema and Harjot Bains for defending Naresh Yadav, the convicted AAP legislator, and insisted that they should not only be removed from the Cabinet but also face criminal proceedings as per the proposed Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025.

He urged that similar actions be taken against AAP leader Sandeep Pathak for advocating Yadav's candidacy post-conviction and against AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal for endorsing this.